By blogging, of course! This blog will be a place for Westfinder's staff to publicly talk about the issues that come up in our line of work, and for everyone to formulate educated opinions on such issues.
This idea came out of the Open Community Meeting we had yesterday, in which a number of such issues were discussed:
- Not enough communication between staff and everyone else. I'm helping fix this problem right now, but a couple other solutions are in the works. We'll be having more Open Community Meetings, and possibly handing out evaluation surveys after bootlegs, both on a regular basis.
- Money. We don't know how much we have. Hillary will be fixing this problem by counting it. Also, what's done with the money. As of now, it's used for buying more props and costuming, paying staff, and otherwise saved up.
- The hiring of other staff. Eight is plenty enough for now, but we're going to need more in the future, especially when some of the current staff leave their positions. To that end, and since there seem to be a number of aspiring staff members, we'll be creating an application for Westfinder staff, and beginning to train more staff a year before they take up their positions.
- People other than staff working on foamcraft. This will become more feasible when Sam Sher's foam is actually Westfinder foam. As he's production staff, I'll let him talk more in depth about this.
I also received some concerns after the meeting:
- Overt sexuality: Making out, groping, etc. We need less of it, because it's inappropriate, distracts people from activities, and causes jealousy. But I think all I really need to do crack down on it is give a talk about it now and then, basically paraphrasing the last two sentences, and be a better role model than I have been about this.
- Westfinder's games need less overpowered Special Player Characters, and more Player Character empowerment. It's no fun standing around watching two or three SPCs decide the fate of the world in a cutscene. This is something for gamewriters and staff to keep in mind when making and running games.
- Characters with the potential to give psychological problems to the people who play them: The casting of them needs to be watched more closely, so that these roles are given to players who are less susceptible to de-roling problems. Once again, this is something for gamewriters and staff to keep in mind when making and running games.
- De-roling: It should always be available and encouraged, but perhaps we shouldn't encourage the kind of role-playing that can keep players stuck in their characters after the game ends.
Yeah! All of that is great.
ReplyDeleteRemember gamewriters: these games are made for the PCs! Empower them.
~Hillary
I think you should probably add that not only is it important to address the question of future staff but also the question of how staff can make sure the community knows what's going on with staff-things! I think Khy suggested a monthly newsletter or some-such.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'm still anti-Westfinder-becoming-a-business. I know I'm in the minority, but just putting it out there: I much prefer Westfinder the...thing to Westfinder the business. Turning it into a business means regulation, means permission forms, means money, means it's all official and concrete. Selfish as it is, I'd prefer that it all remain open and not so uptight/worried. Meh...not feeling good at explaining things right now.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as a randomish tidbit, gamewriters please feel free to give me psychologically scarring characters.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete(Removed my last post because I hadn't signed it)
ReplyDeleteI think there's been an unfortunate correlation that's been made between having to fill out forms and Westfinder automatically being a business. Forms are not so we can file tax returns, or make more money -- they're so that, in case of an emergency and/or lawsuit, Westfinder isn't wiped off the face of the earth.
Westfinder has always had some degree of regulation, and in all honesty, there's really not much more now than there used to be. That said, there has been a lot of talk using those keywords like "business" and "regulation", and staff *has* undercommunicated in that regard. But please don't think Westfinder's becoming anything else. Sometimes a more organized change is a good thing, like a process for who applying to be staff instead of last year's just picking. In the end, I think all Westfinders, staff and community members alike, put in work and effort not for monetary gain, but because they love Westfinder.
-Greg
In response to Benj's comment: This very blog is intended to make sure the community knows what the staff are doing, which is the same thing a newsletter would do. We'll also be holding more Open Community Meetings.
ReplyDeleteSo although we _could_ have a newsletter, I want to see if this blog can accomplish the same thing on its own.
Westfinder is a business and Wayfinder is a business. But for all intensive purposes, we want to keep the feel of westfinder as a non-profit organization.
ReplyDeleteThat is... yes, we take money, and some people get paid a small bit, but all the Staffer's goals are to make a fun, vibrant community, and not to make money.
So, we're technically a business. But all of us (and I think many non-staff members) strive to keep it community oriented!
~Hillary
Actually, I very much agree with Katya. I'm very partial to anything that would make Westfinder less business-ey. More like how it used to be -- just because, in all honesty, when it was more casual and more like "hey! this is a group of friends hanging out with SWORDS and stuff!" I felt much more comfortable and just in general much.. happier with my environment, I guess. I understand that we can't magically transport ourselves back in time, (Doctor, where are you NOW?) but I just thought I'd put that sentiment out there along with Katya's.
ReplyDelete--- and to add on to that, in response to both what Greg and Hillary said, I think what Katya and I are talking about is much more than just money-collection etc. Though I understand staff is trying to keep it "community-oriented," there are several ideas which are kinda counter-productive to that; for instance, staff. Just because, I remember when I first came to Westfinder (septemberish 2007) the staff concept was pretty vague. And it didn't *feel* staffish. It felt like a bunch of friends casually hanging out and I really liked that.
ReplyDeleteAside from that, there's also the question of expansion -- why *is* expansion so important? There are a lot of people in Westfinder, and while I understand that one view may be that the more the merrier, I don't see why this would prompt a need for something like advertising -- or hosting birthday parties -- etc. All of this just contributes to a much more formal, regulated feeling, much of which, I think, isn't necessary for something like safety.
Like i said, I understand that we can't go back in time and I also understand that there are varying opinions on this subject.. I just think these are valid opinions that should be given careful consideration.
Another note with the SPC thing: Only staff usually being SPCs contributes to the Ooh Staff are these Shiny Pedestal People Aura
ReplyDeleteIf the evaluations thing is still being discussed, I'd love to talk about how it could work and why I think it's a good idea.
ReplyDeleteI suggested it based on Hampshire's academic structure, which replaces grades with evaluations but also gives students the opportunity to evaluate not only their own learning in a class, but also the structure of that class and the person who taught it. Evaluations of professors are acknowledged and considered by the school.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete^agrees with luke^ ^agrees with benj^
ReplyDeletealso, we should set up some kind of group so that non-staff can more easily communicate with the rest of the community. that would be nice.
on the subject of crazily powerful SPCs, if you must use them, try having them be played by non-staff. the problem of waiting for SPCs to do stuff would be greatly lessened if everyone had the experience of playing an SPC at least once. still, try to avoid them, or at least have them work as behind-the-scenes as possible
--David
>>"Forms are not so we can file tax returns, or make more money -- they're so that, in case of an emergency and/or lawsuit, Westfinder isn't wiped off the face of the earth."
ReplyDeleteGuys, this is actually a pretty significant thing, whether or not it seems like it. One of the big reasons (imho) that the business aspect is important is so that we don't get sued. To whoever reads this, I know you don't think you'd ever sue, and I know that I would never sue, but the same cannot be 100% guaranteed for parents who do not have 100% understanding of what's going on at Westfinder.
Safety is very, very, important, and we have to make sure things are done right. I know we all want a piece of the responsibility for what goes on with Westfinder--first and foremost we ARE a community--but at the same time it can be very nice to have some central organization. It helps things run much more smoothly, and deal with legal business (which, again, is serious business).
Also, anyone remember the idea of us starting a Westfinder summer camp? Y'know, like Wayfinder, only here. For that we'd have to rent space, provide food and [probably] housing for a few weeks, in addition to paying staff and providing standard game equipment. This kind of business requires a lot of preparation and dealing with legal business. Being a 'staff member' is not just 'special privileges', but a serious responsibility--these are the people who will be dealing with other parties to _rent_ the space, to _hire_ caterers. Sure, we all want to pitch in with the 'fun, creative' etc. bits. But that's not all that staff _does_.
And as for the SPC thing: games should never be SPC based. Ever. They should always be about the PCs. As for most SPCs being staff, this makes perfect sense: SPC roles are generally vital to the flow, and gamewriters give these parts to the most experienced roleplayers (although WSF has been around for long enough that SPC roles can go to almost anyone now). That being said, experience and trust seem to be the two key factors that allow people to be cast as SPCs and to be staff--it's not that people are SPCs _because_ they're staff, or the other way around. It's just that both have the same qualifications.
General note: I am not staff at Westfinder and I never was. I've just been around since its creation and have seen it evolve from a group of eight friends who wanted a California Westfinder to the awesome community we have now. And I think that having a few people who are in charge of technical business is not as bad nor polarizing as it may seem.
>>"Also, as a randomish tidbit, gamewriters please feel free to give me psychologically scarring characters."
Katya, I'll keep that in mind >:}
...Sorry for the ludicrously long post.
~J
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI guess part of my hesitations about the new thing Westfinder is becoming is...I don't really like safety, or rules, or non-competitiveness (I do mean this. I would rather get hurt/hurt someone than not be competitive). As I said, it's selfish and not terribly reasonable, but hey, I never claimed to be reasonable!
ReplyDelete>8 )
PS: Jesse, I challenge you to create a character that will successfully scar me for any length of time. No one yet has succeeded in the slightest.
That's a terrible idea! Why ever would we want to scar you psychologically?
ReplyDelete